KJCKorea
Journal Central

This study aims to redefine the role of liberal arts colleges in the autonomous major system that is expanding in response to the demand for convergence talent and to explore the potential of liberal arts colleges as core hubs for major exploration and design. To achieve this, comparative analysis of successful autonomous major system cases from the United States, Japan, and Europe was conducted to derive development directions for Korean liberal arts colleges. The analysis results suggest that overseas cases demonstrate liberal arts education functioning as a core mechanism for students' major exploration and academic identity formation, beyond the basic knowledge transmission function. The Core Curriculum of Columbia College, the Open Curriculum of Brown University, the liberal arts faculty system of the University of Tokyo, and the convergence-type liberal arts program of Amsterdam University College all show common characteristics of liberal arts colleges playing a pivotal role in systematically supporting the entire process of exploration-discovery-design. Based on this analysis, three key tasks for the development of Korean liberal arts colleges were presented. First, it is suggested that securing independence and authority to exercise substantial influence over academic operations through strengthening the institutional status of liberal arts colleges and improving organizational structure is necessary. Second, the necessity of curriculum construction that enables student-led academic inquiry through educational innovation centered on convergence-type, exploration-type, and project-type courses is raised. Third, it was confirmed that the establishment of an integrated student support system including major exploration workshops, mentoring, and portfolio design is required. Therefore, for the successful implementation of the autonomous major system, the necessity of reorganizing liberal arts colleges from their limited role as 'general liberal arts completion institutions' to core hubs of the autonomous major system is suggested. It is implied that liberal arts colleges require the establishment of status as the first major that realizes students' academic potential, transcending the simple venue for liberal arts education.

This study develops and evaluates an integrated curricular and extracurricular program for first-year students in the Undeclared Major colleges drawing on the case of H University, which has implemented the Autonomous Major Selection system since 2017. A student-centered, project-based learning (PBL) career course—“Creative Convergence Major Exploration”—was designed using the ADDIE model and delivered to 175 first-year students in the College of Creativity and Convergence during the spring semester of 2025. Analysis of the course outcomes indicates that career education for students under the Autonomous Major Selection system should not be limited to short-term support for major selection, but should instead aim to lay the foundations for long-term career development through enhanced self-understanding. The study also identifies the importance of multidimensional strategies, including the integration of curricular and extracurricular activities, adoption of participatory teaching methods, and institutionalization of mentoring and counseling. These findings provide valuable insights for curriculum innovation and institutional design tailored to the specific needs of students in autonomous and flexible major selection programs.

This study analyzes Claire Keegan’s novella Foster from the perspectives of ‘care’ and ‘growth’, exploring its implications for liberal arts education. Set in rural Ireland in the 1980s, the work portrays the journey of a young girl who, having lived an invisible life in a poor family under the neglect of her biological parents, regains self-esteem and develops her sense of self through the warm care and emotional bonds she experiences in a foster home during the summer. By contrasting the atmosphere of the birth family with that of the foster family, this paper examines the role of care in the girl’s growth. Particular attention is given to her experiences of running and reading with the Kinsella couple, as well as her inner development in understanding the value of secrecy and silence in human relationships. Through a textual analysis of Claire Keegan’s work, which has received relatively little scholarly attention in Korea, this study reflects on the meaning of care relationships that transcend traditional notions of family. Ultimately, it has been shown that the literary symbolism and social message of Foster justify its worth as a modern classic and highlight its usefulness as a text in university liberal arts education.